Our latest online event, Conscious Collectivism, explored how brands can unify people in the common cause of building a circular economy.

The FRAME-moderated panel discussion with Giovanni Zaccariello, SVP of global visual experience at Coach, Joon Silverstein, SVP of global marketing and sustainability, and head of Coachtopia, Gemma Ruse, cofounder and creative director of StudioXAG, and Daniel Mitchell, founder and creative director of Space Available, explored how a collective, community-driven approach can help achieve more sustainable realities, and the role retail environments can play in underscoring that. Here are the five most important takeaways from the event.

Gen Z ‘expects brands to be agents of change’

‘We are seeing a lot of big shifts with the next generation of consumers,’ Joon Silverstein, SVP of global marketing and sustainability, and head of Coachtopia, noted. ‘Gen Z is looking for brands that align with their values, and when it comes to sustainability, they expect brands to be agents of change. Through speaking with hundreds of Gen Z consumers around the world, they’ve shared how torn they feel between their desire for self-expression and their concern for the planet and the climate crisis.'

Photo: Andrew Meredith

Cover and above: StudioXAG produced a Coachtopia pop-up store at Selfridges in London, and highlighted the brand's playfulness through a circular intervention.

These pressures require brands, and designers, to re-evaluate how they can create value for consumers in non-traditional, more sustainable ways. ‘It's about how brands can reframe the conversation and reshape our understanding of desire and value,’ said Gemma Ruse, cofounder and creative director of StudioXAG, who produced a community-centric circular Coachtopia pop-up store at Selfridges. ‘We need to create value for the customer by prioritizing the wellbeing of people and the planet over just mere accumulation.’

Community is key in changing consumption habits

For Silverstein, circularity is about a lot more than ‘changing how we make products. It's about changing how we think about how we consume as a culture.’ Fashion’s – and spatial design’s – impact on the planet is no secret, but, according to Silverstein, to overcome this means to rethink our approach to consuming altogether. Besides reusing materials, ‘it's about rethinking the relationship between brand and consumer, going beyond a linear transactional relationship that ends at the point of purchase. We need to build lasting relationships with consumers that empower them to be part of a circular economy, to repair and care for their products so they can use them longer, to bring them back to us or other resale platforms when they decide to part with them.’ It requires a rethinking of what waste is and giving the consumer an opportunity to take action. Daniel Mitchell, founder and creative director of Space Available, a Bali-based circular design practice Space Available, is encouraging people to reframe their notion of waste, through participation. Establishing community is one such way to overcome this, and his studio and its partner spaces seek to establish themselves as ‘pillars of the community, where you can go to learn about circularity and transform waste materials into something useful.’

Learning by doing 

Building connection – and trust – is core to achieving this on a brand-to-consumer level. ‘Inclusivity and transparency at the very core of our brand, which we've built as a community,’ said Silverstein. ‘Gen Z consumers are skeptical of brands, but they also want a seat at the table. They're keen to drive change, and that's why we find it so important to include them in every step we take. They've become our co-creators rather than our critics.’ 

Photo: Andrew Meredith

Recycled materials, including repurposed neon flex LED strips, recycled leather scraps and recycled timber were used throughout the temporary retail space.

This notion of learning by doing and being inclusive allows brands to activate their values and reach their consumers personally. ‘At one of our first pop-ups, we gave participants scraps of leather, zippers and buttons to create seating, mirrors and other accessories,’ said Giovanni Zaccariello, SVP Global Visual Experience, Coach, underscoring the hands-on co-creative efforts with consumers. ‘It’s not just about bringing the brand to the consumer, but it's also about bringing the consumer into the brand. Physical space is crucial to achieving this level of interaction.’ Ruse highlighted how interactive spaces serve an educational purpose. ‘It’s exciting when we think about learning by doing. Engaging the consumer in a space, ideally a multi-sensory space that gets them excited, has moments of discovery in it, and allows them to drive the process and engage with it, is a better way of learning, compared with more literal ways of education.' This intimate connection with the customer allows brands to ‘tell their story in a really authentic way’.

Consumers ‘want to know it’s sustainable’

‘When speaking with more established luxury consumers, they told us they’re fine with making products more sustainable, as long as they can't tell the difference,’ Silverstein explained. ‘But our Gen Z consumers have such a different mindset; they want to be able to see the difference. We have to think differently about the norms that have been rooted in traditional luxury culture for so long. I think it's important to reframe our understanding and perception of waste, to see it not as just an unwanted byproduct but as an inspiring raw material.’ 

Sustainability is a circular journey, not a linear path

Reiterating the notion that it’s important to move beyond the constraints of perfection, Ruse notes that sustainability is a circular journey, not a linear path. ‘All our clients are at different points in their sustainability journey, and we are doing our best to drive them forward towards a more sustainable future, but that can be done in much bigger and much smaller ways, depending on the brief, the client and the challenge at hand. It’s not always a total systems change, but a move in the right direction.’ In this, ‘transparency is absolutely key,’ said Silverstein. ‘Consumers, especially Gen Z, are demanding to see real progress. We always focus on progress over perfection.’

Watch the full panel discussion below: